Saturday, September 3, 2011

A U.N. team was on the ground in Libya to re-establish the organization's presence there amid dire water, food and fuel shortages, the United Nations said Friday.

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Libya, Panos Moumtzis, arrived in Tripoli with a team of U.N. officials who hope to assess and address problems with food and water in the war-torn country.

"The humanitarian situation remains fragile," Moumtzis said in a statement. "It is critical to ensure an immediate and effective U.N. presence on the ground to help identify and assist vulnerable people who have been particularly affected by the conflict and the disruption of services."

The U.N. delegation, which arrived in Libya on Thursday, will assess and assist with water shortages, explore ways to protect civilians and investigate food shortages.

Working with the National Transitional Council, which is functioning as an interim government, UNICEF hopes to find and distribute bottled water to 500,000 people, the U.N. statement said. The World Food Programme has sent about 600 metric tons of food to help 35,500 people for one month, the statement said. Read More